The 13th Fighter Squadron in Misawa, Japan is a favorite to work with! This squadron has a lot of amazing history, and back in the early ’70s they actually had a no-kidding, real, live panther as their mascot!
These guys and gals are always looking for fun new swag, and I was always ready to help out on the design front.
The Squadron’s Slogan is “Cave Putorium!”, which roughly translates to “Fear the Weasel!” The 13thFS is a “Wild Weasel” squadron, which is a designation given to them by the USAF due to the type of mission they fly. They were looking for a way to incorporate both translations into a design in an interesting way, and I think we nailed it.
The 13thFS was in the market for new swag for the Misawa Air Show in 2019. This was leading up to the expected release of the movie Top Gun: Maverick (which ended up being delayed…who knew 2019 was going to end so insanely?!) We decided to go with the “Top Gun” feel for that year’s design, and it sold like gangbusters!
Directly below, you can see the original design in the squadron colors, but we decided to go with a more monochromatic design for the final product.
